The poem begins seemingly mid-sentence with the word "nor," as if in the middle of a litany that could have begun with the word "Neither." The speaker lists the different ways that the reader or addressee will not be covered or protected. Not with skin, hide, fleece, curtain of crimson, shelter of cedar-wood, fir-tree or pine.
The second stanza continues the litany, the speaker listing features of the natural environment, including three kinds of birds, that will not be perceived by the reader.
The third stanza brings the litany to a close, noting that the reader will also not long for the voice, touch, or sight of a lover. Instead, the reader will long all night for the "roll of a full tide" to cover him or her, without experiencing a question or a kiss—implying that the reader will lose the desire for human contact.
